- Daniil Medvedev (RUS/ATP 3) beat Carlos Alcaraz (ESP/ATP 1) in the semi-finals of the US Open 7:6 (7:3), 6:1, 3:6, 6:3.
- The Russian played impressively confidently against last year’s winner and deservedly won a spectacular game after 3:18 hours.
- In the final, Alcaraz will meet Novak Djokovic, as in 2021, who abruptly ended youngster Ben Shelton’s run.
Nothing will come of the giant duel between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the US Open: Responsible for this was Daniil Medvedev, who played great in the semi-final against the Spanish world number one and is playing for his second US Open title on Sunday. As with his triumph two years ago, Novak Djokovic is waiting in the final.
Medvedev earned his success through a concentrated performance in which he did not allow himself to be disturbed by the roaring New York audience. The 27-year-old served to win at 5:3 in the fourth set, but the service game became wild: Medvedev fended off break points and missed three match points, the first with a double fault. With a show of strength and the 4th match point, the Russian fought his way to the finish after 3:18 hours.
Alcaraz’s missed opportunities
Medvedev, who had quietly lost the last two duels against Alcaraz this year, including in the Wimbledon semi-finals, was still in a losing position at the beginning of the third meeting. He made three double faults in the first service game, but got through his service with a bang.
Nevertheless, Alcaraz’s break in the first set seemed only a matter of time; the Spaniard was too dominant at the start of the game. Last year’s winner repeatedly dared to successfully advance to the net and played his service games without any problems. Apart from two missed break points, Alcaraz was unable to take advantage of the game’s advantages, also because Medvedev found his way into the game better as the game progressed. He provided proof of this in the tiebreak, which he clearly won 7:3.
Medvedev is powerful with his serve
Medvedev immediately took the momentum from the opening set he won. The Russian played strongly while Alcaraz visibly lost his stride. Medvedev took Alcaraz’s serve right at the start of the second set and moved ahead 3-0. The unleashed Medvedev remained untouched by his own service – Alcaraz only won two return points in this set – and immediately won the set 6-1.
But Alcaraz, who had never made up for a 0-2 set deficit in his young career, bit his way back into the game. His first break in this game was enough to win the third round. In the 4th set, Alcaraz missed three break points at 1:1, which took revenge: Medvedev took the favorite’s serve to make it 4:2 – a little later the outsider’s entry into the final was a fact.